ISLAND VOICES

Making wealthy pay more would allow Social Security to expand benefits

By U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Tom Harkin

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 11, 2013

~~<p>Hawaii and Iowa are separated by nearly 4,000 miles, but people in both states share the same profound worry: Will I ever be able to save enough money to afford retirement?</p><p>Sadly, this worry is well founded. According to a new study by the National Institute on Retirement Security, the average working household has little or no retirement assets, with a median account balance of just $3,000; for near-retirement households, the median is $12,000. Some 38 million working-age households have no retirement account assets at all.</p>~~

Hawaii and Iowa are separated by nearly 4,000 miles, but people in both states share the same profound worry: Will I ever be able to save enough money to afford retirement?

Sadly, this worry is well founded. According to a new study by the National Institute on Retirement Security, the average working household has little or no retirement assets, with a median account balance of just $3,000; for near-retirement households, the median is $12,000. Some 38 million working-age households have no retirement account assets at all. Login for more...